IPSWICH Town have made a bid for the man dubbed ‘the Irish Messi’.

The EADT understands that the Blues have offered League One club Notts County �500,000 for tricky attacking midfielder Alan Judge.

The diminutive 23-year-old – who is capable of playing wide or through the middle – picked up two trophies at the Magpies’ end of season awards following a campaign which yielded eight goals and 13 assists.

He netted three stunning goals in the Midlands’ club’s last two games of the season, against Wycombe Wanderers and Colchester United, as Keith Curle’s side agonisingly missed out on the play-offs by goal difference.

It’s the sort of form which led to the energetic Dublin-born player being playfully compared to Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi by his adoring supporters.

And while a number of Championship clubs have been scouting the former Blackburn academy player and Republic of Ireland Under-21 international, it is Ipswich Town boss Paul Jewell who has made the first move.

Notts County manager Keith Curle said last week that he was set to offer new contracts to both Judge and 17-goal top-scorer Jeff Hughes, insisting that ‘it sends out a strong message that we want to keep our best players’.

However, it’s understood that the County boss – whose development squad manager is former Town coach Chris Kiwomya – is under pressure to raise some funds in the transfer market this summer.